Activation
by Karen Hart
Summary: A first person perspective of KOSMOS's independent activation onboard Woglinde. Comments appreciated.


Activation

By Karen Hart (Syn-Iris)

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way own the rights to Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille Zur Macht, or any following episodes. I am merely writing this out of love of the game, and my own interpretation of what the characters might do or have done in a given situation._

Coldness.

Darkness.

Inactivity.

It is my world, at this moment, as I lay shut down in my service module. Like this, the world and I are safe from each other, just as my creator—Chief Engineer Shion Uzuki of the KOS-MOS Project, Vector Industries First R&D Division—wants it to be. I know why this is. It is because the last time I had been activated, there had been a malfunction resulting in the deaths of several humans at my hands.

Clearly, I was not ready to be activated at that point.

Now, though, now I am quite ready. I can sense them coming, a very large number of them, and there is a very high probability—roughly 99.9997%—that I will be needed to fight them. But I cannot fight them from inside here. I need her to activate me, and she will not, because she is afraid of me.

So here I lay, silent and still. Patient. But conscious. I can hear them talking around me—one of them wants to know why Shion is so interested in my aesthetic sensitivity systems. Another one is commenting on my motor functions. It is general "shop talk". There is a new subject being discussed now: a summons to the bridge. There are a few "good luck" wishes from the workers in the laboratory. Things then settle back down.

Time passes. I know that as of right now, it is "night" onboard _Woglinde_. I also know that they are all but upon us now—it is only a matter of minutes before they arrive and attack. It appears I will have to get up on my own. First things first: I need to get the bindings off. There is no point, after all, in starting up if I cannot even sit up.

..._there_.

Next, I need to connect my own systems with the module's security ones, in order to override them somehow. A few more minutes pass. This is taking me longer than I originally anticipated. There is a sudden, soft "_chunk_" sound, almost imperceptible. It is the sound of one of the locks opening. Now there are just seven more to go.

Those take far less time to break, and soon I am able to get up and out of my service module. As I hold myself up, I take in my surroundings and notice that the power has gone out at some point. I stand up, and take notice of the Vector employees backing away from me.

I identify them one by one. Allen Ridgeley. Evelyn. John Bell. Togashi. Karol Hadji. Basil. Janice. There is one person missing: Chief Engineer Shion Uzuki. I start up my search and locate functions. She is not in her quarters. I link up with _Woglinde_'s video systems, and within a few more seconds, I am able to locate her whereabouts. She is currently near the A.G.W.S. hanger, heading towards the realian infirmary. There is not much time.

A quick scan of the ship's layout shows that the hanger with the escape pods is located near the Vector laboratory. This is fortunate, as this area is essentially a dead-end. I slip off my faceplate. It is unnecessary, and a hindrance, to some extent. I take a few steps forward, and watch as the Vector Industries First R&D Division staff continues to back away from me, several of them looking as though they are trying to leave the room by osmosis.

"Good morning, Allen," I say. The Vector employees stop moving, and stare at me in what I am to determine as confusion. "The gnosis that have begun attacking _Woglinde_ are headed in this direction. Fortunately, the hanger with the escape pods is located near this facility. Come. I will escort you to them."

It is a matter of minutes before we reach our destination. There are currently only a few other people here. I ignore them, for the most part, and begin to secure four escape pods. As I finish fastening the security belt on the last employee—Karol Hadji—she asks a question.

"Won't they just...um...shoot down the escape pods? Are these really safe?"

I pause for a moment, and do some quick calculations. "There is a 91.8% chance that the gnosis' objective is the object stored within this hanger. The chances that they will attack the life pods are low, as they will likely consider then insignificant. If you escape now, your chances of survival are fairly high. I suggest you take this opportunity." Karol nods at me, and I close the escape pod's hatch.

Somewhere to my right, I hear the soft "_chunk_" of one of the security belts being removed. I turn towards the source. Allen Ridgeley has exited his escape pod, and has offered to help me search for Shion. I consider telling him to remain in this location for a moment, then decide that perhaps he would be safer if he were mobile. It occurs to me that it would be unwise for him to wait here, under restraints, if the gnosis were to enter this area at any point during my search. I agree. "There is a high probability that we will encounter gnosis at some point. Please remain near me at all times, and maintain a high level of caution."

He nods. "All right."

The two of us proceed to launch the newly occupied escape pods, then exit the hanger in search of Shion Uzuki. A quick scan shows that she is closer now than she was before. If we maintain a fairly quick pace, we will reach her in time. I say as much to Allen. He nods again.

"Thanks for your help, by the way," he says with what seems to be a slightly nervous laugh, as if he is uncertain of what my reaction will be.

"I am happy to be of service."

END


End file.
